Soccer has become an extremely popular sport among athletes of all ages. Heading a soccer ball, that is, hitting the soccer ball with ones head, is a necessary and useful skill in the game of soccer, particularly since a player is not permitted to use their arms or hands during play of the game.
Thus, there is a demand for a soccer header training device that is easy to use, portable, and inexpensive. Children particularly benefit from a header practice apparatus because heading a soccer ball is an unnatural action and children are often fearful of an on-coming ball in the direction of their head and face. The present device helps to eliminate this element of fear in that the ball is suspended motionless until it is headed. Novices are not, however, the only athletes who benefit from the training device. Experienced soccer players can sharpen their skills more quickly with the present device as there are no balls to retrieve and no partner is required to throw or kick the soccer ball to the athlete. Moreover, the height of the ball is easily adjustable, thereby permitting the athlete to practice various head shots.
The prior art soccer training devices do not achieve the advantages provided by the soccer header apparatus of the present invention. Existing soccer ball suspending devices are more complicated, less portable and/or less effective. Devices such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,599 to Brown, provide soccer header training devices that are more complicated, inherently less portable and more expensive. The device of Brown, is a large, self standing apparatus consisting of a main support with a horizontal portion and a lengthy vertical section which is supported by a base anchored to the ground. The base is filled with sand and required to be heavy to support the device during use.
Another type of prior art device is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,797 to Vartija et al. Vartija et al. discloses an apparatus which simply encases a soccer game ball within a net and then which is attached to an adjustable tether. The tether contains a handle at its end. In use, another person must hold the handle for the athlete to practice his or her heading techniques. The disadvantages of this are numerous. Most importantly, a second person is required to use the device, the device lacks any stability (other than the person holding it), a predetermined soccer ball height cannot be exactly repeated, and it would seem that a very strong person would be required to hold the training device for the athlete to practice.
Additionally, soccer header devices with permanent installations are known in the art. These devices, however, require the permanent installation of a base tube within the ground. This base tube must be set in concrete. The support tube then is inserted into the base and is substantially taller than the device of the instant invention. These devices are inherently not totally portable and the bases must be set in the ground. This arrangement is potentially harmful because of the fact that when the base remains in the ground of a soccer field, soccer players may be injured by tripping or falling on it, for example.
The present inventor determined that it is desirable to have a soccer practice device useful for practicing head shots that meets the following criteria. First, it is desirable to have same be portable and usable at any soccer field equipped with a goal. Secondly, it is desirable to have the apparatus constructed so that the position at which the ball is held for practicing a head shot may be easily adjusted, both vertically (height off the ground) and with respect to its location along the opening of the goal. It is desirable that it be relatively inexpensive, easy to adjust, usable by one person and not requiring heavily weighted support stands or permanently installed receptacles in the field of play. Heretofore, the prior art has not provided a soccer practice device that combined all of these desirable features.
Thus, it is desirable to have a device such as the present soccer header training apparatus to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art training devices.